As part of our Curious Cornhuskers initiative, sophomore physics major Kayla Kremke asked The Daily Nebraskan, “What happens with all of the ‘made fresh daily’ sushi that isn’t purchased at the Herbie’s Markets each night?”

The sushi is made fresh every day in Abel’s ingredient room by the Hissho Sushi franchise and its employees, according to Rebecca Wood — the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s manager of retail food operations.

A Hissho employee then delivers the sushi to each Herbie’s Market across campus. When they arrive in the morning, the old, not purchased sushi is replaced with new sushi. The old sushi is then thrown away. The sushi only stays in the cooler for 24 hours, Wood said.

Kremke said she sent the question in because she works at Herbie’s Market and had wondered what happens to the day-old sushi.

“We get a new batch [of sushi] that we put out, she said, “so I don’t know what happens to the sushi that isn’t purchased — if the company takes it back, or if we just throw it away. I’m not quite sure.”

Instead of just simply throwing it all away, Kremke said she thinks there might be a more environmentally friendly way to discard the old sushi.

“I don’t know if sushi is something you can exactly donate or anything like that,” she said, “but, at least in my mind, if you’re going to toss it, recycle the packaging, because it’s all plastic and things like that, versus just throwing it away in its entirety.”